Star Gazer
Stern Electronics, 1980Recently i bought 8 old playfields, real dusty, not working at all and broken...But i love them so, I'm gonna make them (kindda) work again, at least i will try ;-)so i have a lot of questions. First pinballfield will be Star Gazor, check out the photo,.and please wish me luck!
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Thought it was pretty dirty, but this seems quite normal for a machine from this age? (it was stored in an old warehouse) biggest problem seems to be a small crack in the playfield from top to bottom, although it's only in the top layer of the wood. (right on the picture) Is there anyway to fix this, or just leave it this way..
before and after clean comparison:
- first i used window cleaner just to get rid of the most dirt
- the magix erasor with alcohol (97%) for the swirls and other dirt
- cleaned the white (alcohol) remains with Mr Muscle kitchen cleaner (Novus2 is better for this? but can't buy it here in the Netherlands.)
- put all the star-posts in the dishwasher, but only after using metal polish! (the green stuff) i could get rid of the old wax
- window cleaner for the plastics
- waxed the playfield twice (thinking of a third one 
- sanded and painted the apron black
Quoted from Star_Gazer:How to deal with rusty side rails (see picture) help appreciated! Can i sand paper them and apply some sort of protective paint?
Can you get Evaporust? Amazing, non-toxic stuff to safely remove rust. You can sand if necessary then buff and wax.
Quoted from Star_Gazer:some "noobish" questions; does anyone know an alternative for Novus2, can window cleaner do the job as well? (to clean the left over from the alcolhol)
Naptha.
It looks to me like every insert is shrunken, several are missing...I'm not sure if you're intending for this thing to be USEABLE or not...otherwise looks like it will be great wall art or a potential coffee table donor. Not sure it would be worth the investment of time to get it playable given the reproduction ones that John G. is making look completely amazing.
You should avoid Window Cleaner as it contains a lot of water which will get into the cracks and further lift the paint or cause the wood grain to warp up.
You can always treat the painted playfield surface just like a Car finish (minus the soap and water cleaning). Most car wax product from abrasive cleaner to mild pure Carnuba waxes will work on a pinball playfield, Of course, you may want to avoid the very abrasive cleaners as they will take off too much paint if you are not careful.
You should also avoid any product that contains Ammonia to clean the plastics as it will ultimately yellow them.
That large crack down the left center of the playfield is where the top veneer was joined in the making of the plywood. Not too much you can do other than touch up and clear coating.
Quoted from OTTOgd:Can you get Evaporust? Amazing, non-toxic stuff to safely remove rust. You can sand if necessary then buff and wax.
Yeah, great! i see they even have a dutch site (and there's still much rusty parts to do) ordered!
Quoted from Frax:Naptha.
Not sure it would be worth the investment of time to get it playable given the reproduction ones that John G. is making look completely amazing.
Well i consider this playfield as a test project and use the experience for future play fields. Don’t even have a cabinet for Stargazer! i think the end result will be more of an working - but without score etc tabletop pinball machine).
Quoted from CactusJack:You should avoid Window Cleaner
Well luckily i only used window clean for the plastics, that's all right isn’t? thanks for the tips!
Quoted from Fast-Ed:Man if you were located here in the states, guys on here would be burning your email up over that stargazer. Good luck on your project. It already looks much better. Ed
burning, like "we want your stargazer? " Thank's for the compliments!
Quoted from Star_Gazer:close up, this was the best i could get rid of the ballswirls. (they're sill there, but the alcohol with the eraser did the job oke)
How hard did you work over the playfield with the magic eraser?
Quoted from CactusJack:That large crack down the left center of the playfield is where the top veneer was joined in the making of the plywood. Not too much you can do other than touch up and clear coating.
That's known as the Classic Stern line or crack. You'll want to touch that up and clear it. Since the magic eraser is abrasive, I would clear the whole playfield after using that anyway.
Quoted from Star_Gazer:How to deal with rusty side rails (see picture) help appreciated! Can i sand paper them and apply some sort of protective paint?
I recommend having the chrome ball guides replated. You can't sand them or use anything abrasive as that will irreparably damage the finish. The ball trail from years of use has already worn through the chrome plating. Simply cleaning and polishing the guides will still leave the ball trail as a point of wear for your nice shiny new pinball.
This is a beautiful playfield with a lot of potential. A little hard work on your part and it will be gorgeous! I'm buying one of John Greatwich's playfields, but I don't have a playfield like yours to swap the parts from. I have to build from scratch like red_ketchup is doing.
Quoted from Star_Gazer:Novus2 is better for this? but can't buy it here in the Netherlands.
Yes you can, for instance in this shop:
http://www.pinballwizard.nl/contents/nl/search.php?searchphrase=novus
Quoted from Star_Gazer:Well luckily i only used window clean for the plastics, that's all right isn’t? thanks for the tips!
burning, like "we want your stargazer? " Thank's for the compliments!
Never ever use window cleaner on plastics. Window cleaner has ammonia and will make your plastic get brittle and crack easily. Window cleaner can be used for glass only. Use Novus 2 or other plastic cleaner for your plastics.
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Noordwijk
Elmhurst, IL
Brampton, ON